Workshops
About our events
Our programme is for writers as well as readers, whether you’re already six novels in, or picking up a pen for the first time. Our intimate workshops and masterclasses are typically 60, 90, or 120 minutes long and are for groups of up to 20 people at a time.
Individual event listings give an idea of what experience level is recommended. Come along for the unique opportunity to be coached and inspired by leading writers, wherever you are in your writing journey.
Covering a vast array of topics and styles, this year’s programme of 30 workshops features everything from Catherine Coe on writing for children, to Sally Hayden on war reporting, while Polly Barton hosts a roundtable problem solving session for translators.
To delve deeper into our Changing Your Mind theme, why not let Sarah Stein Lubrano teach you how have more open conversations, or Emily Kasriel guide you on the art of deep listening.
Or for something completely different try ‘Junk Journaling’ with bookbinder Rachel Hazell, using Tarot as a writing tool with Jill Dawson, or join Emma-Lee Moss (AKA Emmy the Great) to explore the power of songwriting to tell personal stories.
List of Events
Writing for Children: A Workshop with Catherine Coe, Patrice Lawrence & Rashmi Sirdeshpande
Have you always wanted to write for children but don’t know where to start? Keen to understand your characters, plot, and audience better?…
Chopping and Changing: A Poetry Workshop with Peter Mackay
National Makar Peter Mackay knows that words come to us slightly battered and dented. What do we do with these imperfect tools? How do we…
Sounding Home: A Songwriting Workshop with Emma-Lee Moss
How do we remember where we’ve been? Which songs help shape and preserve our identities? This playful session – led by musician and My…Big Tech (and What to Do About It): A Changing Ideas Workshop
Do you deeply feel the urgency of the challenges that face us, but don’t know how to channel that into meaningful action? Designed as a…
Tarot for Fiction Writers: A Workshop with Jill Dawson
While writing her novel Fred and Edie, Jill Dawson was stuck and decided, as a writing exercise, to give the book’s protagonist a tarot…
Shared Reading with Open Book
Join Open Book Lead Readers for an informal and relaxed shared reading session. Each session will explore a chapter from a debut book from…
Close Read: Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
In our Close Read series, a brilliant author guides you through a deep-diving discussion of a classic text or genre that’s inspired them.…Writing Things: A Poetry Workshop with Vona Groarke
What do the things we keep with us, show off, and carry from place to place, say about us? And how can that be harnessed as a shortcut, a…
Writing Magical Realism: A Workshop with Jan Carson
Jan Carson ‘captures the absurdity and beauty of life’ like no other according to Sara Baume – so, who better to lead this masterclass on…Shared Reading with Open Book
Join Open Book Lead Readers for an informal and relaxed shared reading session. Each session will explore a chapter from a debut book from…
Translating Shakespeare: A Workshop with Daniel Hahn
Three of Daniel Hahn’s literary translations have been longlisted for the International Booker Prize, and today he turns his attention to…
Translation Surgery: A Workshop with Polly Barton (120 mins)
Polly Barton is the acclaimed translator of books including Asako Yuzuki’s publishing sensation, Butter, Mieko Kanai’s Mild Vertigo, and…
Close Read: Intro to Gaelic Literature
In our popular Close Read series, a brilliant author guides you through a deep-diving discussion of a classic text or genre that’s inspired…Shared Reading with Open Book
Join Open Book Lead Readers for an informal and relaxed shared reading session. Each session will explore a chapter from a debut book from…
Memory and Story: A Workshop with Jarred McGinnis
Memories are mercurial things and can be recounted differently even by those who shared an experience. Join Jarred McGinnis, author of…
Starting from the Truth: A Memoir Workshop with Catherine Cho
Above all else, memoir has to start from the truth. In this workshop led by Catherine Cho, Jhalak Prize-shortlisted author of Inferno: A…
Close Read: Mr Norris Changes Trains by Christopher Isherwood
In our Close Read series, a brilliant author guides you through a deep-diving discussion of a classic text or genre that’s inspired them.…
Speak Up: A Spoken Word Poetry Workshop with Katie Ailes & Kevin Mclean
Join poets Katie Ailes and Kevin Mclean, directors of Scotland's award-winning Loud Poets, for this inspiring spoken word poetry workshop.…
Deep Listening: A Workshop with Emily Kasriel
In a society where empathetic dialogue feels increasingly rare, BBC journalist, executive coach, and mediator Emily Kasriel has…
Close Read: The Waves by Virginia Woolf
In our Close Read series, a brilliant author guides you through a deep-diving discussion of a classic text or genre that’s inspired them.…Shared Reading with Open Book
Join Open Book Lead Readers for an informal and relaxed shared reading session. Each session will explore a chapter from a debut book from…
Close Read: In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
In our Close Read series, a brilliant author guides you through a deep-diving discussion of a classic text or genre that’s inspired them.…
How to Talk Across Divides: A Workshop with Sarah Stein Lubrano
Researcher and author of Don't Talk About Politics: How to Change 21st-Century Minds, Sarah Stein Lubrano knows why most conversations…